In this episode, I sit down with motivational psychology expert Dr. Bobby Hoffman to explore the fascinating ideas behind his new book The Paradox of Passion: How Rewards Covertly Control Motivation.

Dr. Hoffman unpacks one of the most overlooked truths in human behavior — that the very rewards we use to inspire achievement often end up sabotaging our passion and autonomy. Drawing from decades of research in cognitive and educational psychology, he explains why motivation is more fragile, complex, and deeply human than we tend to believe.

Together, Matt and Dr. Hoffman discuss how to reclaim intrinsic motivation, nurture genuine passion, and resist the subtle ways systems of reward shape our choices and our identities.

In this deeply moving episode, I sit down with author, advocate, and podcast host Kelly Cervantes to discuss her acclaimed memoir The Luckiest: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Motherhood, and the Pursuit of Self.

Kelly opens her heart about the journey through her daughter Adelaide's illness and passing, the complexities of caregiving, and what it means to rediscover identity and purpose in the aftermath of unimaginable loss. With honesty, grace, and resilience, she shares how gratitude, community, and storytelling helped her reclaim her life.

Together, Matt and Kelly explore love that endures beyond loss, the messy beauty of grief, and how writing can become a path toward healing.

In this gripping episode, host Matt Crawford talks with journalist and author Devon O'Neil about his powerful new book The Way Out: A True Story of Survival in the Heart of the Rockies.

Blending the tension of a true survival thriller with the depth of a human drama, O'Neil chronicles an extraordinary real-life story of endurance, fear, and hope in one of the harshest landscapes on Earth. The conversation explores the razor's edge between life and death, how ordinary people find extraordinary strength, and what wilderness reveals about who we really are.

What if the maps we trust most — the ones hanging in classrooms or glowing on our phones — are shaping not just how we see the world, but how we think about it?

In this episode, Matt Crawford speaks with William Rankin, historian of science, cartographer, and author of Radical Cartography: How Changing Our Maps Can Change Our World. Rankin reveals how every map tells a story — and how those stories influence politics, power, identity, and even empathy.

From colonial borders to climate change, this conversation explores how reimagining the art and science of mapping can transform the way we understand ourselves and our planet.

Because sometimes, to change the world, you have to redraw it first.

In this episode, host Matt Crawford speaks with novelist Rick Steinke about his gripping and heartfelt novel Vital Mission: A Jake Fortina Series Love Story. Set against the backdrop of courage, service, and sacrifice, Vital Mission explores what servie and heroism really mean and how novels can evoke feeling history sometime cant. Steinke shares how his military background and life experiences shaped the world of Jake Fortina, a protagonist torn between duty and desire.

Together, they discuss the delicate balance between personal connection and professional mission, the emotional reality behind heroism, and how love itself can be the most vital mission of all.

What if the American Revolution wasn't just a national uprising — but a global turning point?

Prize-winning historian Richard Bell joins Matt Crawford to discuss his groundbreaking new book, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World. In this episode, Bell reframes the Revolution as an event that reverberated far beyond the thirteen colonies — reshaping empires, inspiring new movements for liberty, and transforming ideas about democracy itself.

Richard and I explore the global consequences of America's founding struggle, the untold stories of those left out of its triumph, and how its ideals still echo — and clash — in the world today.

Join the conversation about power, freedom, and the unfinished legacy of the Revolution.

They were told they could be anything — then handed a world on fire.

Award-winning journalist Charlie Wells joins Matt Crawford to discuss his new book What Happened to Millennials: In Defense of a Generation, a deeply reported and provocative look at how the largest generation in history was shaped by economic crises, digital revolutions, and cultural change.

Matt and Charlie explore how millennials have been misunderstood, misrepresented, and underestimated — and why their struggles reveal so much about modern society itself. From work and wealth to meaning and identity, this conversation challenges every stereotype about "the participation trophy generation."

This is the millennial story — told from the inside out.

What happens when the person searching for truth is the one most haunted by it?

In this episode, host Matt Crawford speaks with Canadian author Joel Nedecky about his powerful debut novel, The Broken Detective. This isn't your typical crime story — it's a meditation on guilt, redemption, and the fragile humanity behind every investigation.

Nedecky's novel follows a detective unraveling not only a mystery but also himself — exploring what it means to seek justice in a world where the lines between right and wrong are constantly shifting. Together, Matt and Joel discuss the psychology of brokenness, the tension between duty and doubt, and how writing a detective story can become an act of personal discovery.

In this episode, we're joined by Anne Hand, author of Austrian Again: Reclaiming a Lost Legacy, a powerful exploration of identity, ancestry, and rediscovery.

Through personal storytelling and historical reflection, Anne takes us on her journey to reconnect with her Austrian roots—uncovering forgotten family stories, confronting the silences of the past, and reclaiming a legacy nearly lost to history.

We discuss the emotional process of piecing together family identity after war and migration, what it means to belong to multiple cultures, and how uncovering our heritage can heal generational wounds.

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered where they come from—and how our stories shape who we become.

For decades, we've been told the dinosaurs were wiped out by a single catastrophic asteroid impact — a story that has become almost mythic in its simplicity. But what if that isn't the full truth? In this episode, host Matt Crawford speaks with Professor Gerta Keller, one of the world's leading paleontologists and a bold voice challenging conventional science.

Drawing on over 40 years of fieldwork and groundbreaking research, Keller's new book The Last Extinction: The Real Science Behind the Death of the Dinosaurs reexamines the evidence and makes a compelling case that massive volcanic eruptions — not just an asteroid — drove the greatest extinction in history.

Together, they discuss scientific resistance, the importance of questioning accepted narratives, and what ancient mass extinctions can teach us about our own fragile planet today.